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DIRECTOR’S REPORT Allison Ruiters
“We take it for granted far too often that everyone understands the work that we do and are able to put our relevance into context. As custodians of these biological collections, we need to illustrate how these specimens (and their associated data) enable us to better understand biodiversity, support nature conservation and a whole range of disciplines and professions for which the end product is valued.” Allison Ruiters
My first job was as a Collections Manager in 1997 at the then Natal Museum. It was fortuitous
that I was placed at the heart of what makes these institutions tick, and yet this has become my career. From my first encounter with a natural science specimen that had been collected many years before, and realising the significance of this, eighteen years later, my passion for museums has only grown.
The theme for International Museum Day 2014, ‘Museum Collections Make Connections’, has given me an opportunity to reflect
on our activities in this context.
Many people, the general public and decision-makers, merely see dark
rows of taxidermy specimens and discoloured jars of alcohol, yet do not realise the substantial role of natural science collections – our physical inventory of biodiversity. In contrast, when asked about collections, museum professionals take on an animated and frenzied persona, trying to explain their significance, and cannot understand the confused expressions that they receive when ‘all they are talking about are dead animals’!
One of our roles as museum professionals is to close that gap
for our audience, decision-makers, funders, the public and even scientists. We take it for granted far too often that everyone understands the work that we do and are able to put our relevance into context. As custodians
Science needs to undergo a paradigm shift; we need to consider how we communicate science, as well as whom we include in science activities.
of these biological collections, we
need to illustrate how these specimens (and their associated data) enable
us to better understand biodiversity, support nature conservation and
a whole range of disciplines and professions for which the end product is valued. These specialist fields include, among others, securing sustainable food resources through agricultural research; within health, the study
of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis; in climate change studies, allowing predictions
to be made about future impacts on species; and in forensics, the reliance
of entomological collection records. While the optimal use of natural science collections can result in extensive economic and social returns, the
fundamental systematic and taxonomic research that is undertaken primarily
in (and through) museums, cannot be overemphasised, as this forms the basis for most biological research.
To this end, there has been an increasing concern internationally
about the state of natural science collections, and South Africa is no exception. The primary challenges to the sustainability of our collections
are governance structures (museums report to departments with an arts
and culture rather than a science mandate) and the decreasing scientific expertise to research these collections. These quandaries were discussed extensively at the conference in August this year, hosted by the South African Committee of the International Council of Museums, and held at the DNSM Research Centre. Emphasis was placed on museums articulating their research in terms of value to society, and creating a value chain that also aligns their research to government imperatives.
In the current economic climate, with most funding for museums coming from public resources, we are obliged to ensure that the research undertaken within our institutions are relevant to both our funders and users.
The DNSM collections, research
and public engagement mandates have benefited from recent interventions from national and provincial government, while our core funder remains local government. The significant funding received through the
thola: VOLUME 17. 2014/15